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French President Emmanuel Macron has officially designated July 12 as a national day of remembrance for Alfred Dreyfus — the late Jewish French Army officer at the center of one of France’s most notorious antisemitic scandals.
The annual day of commemoration will begin in 2026, coinciding with the 120th anniversary of Dreyfus’s exoneration by France’s highest court.
“From now on, there will be a commemoration ceremony every July 12 for Dreyfus — for the victory of justice and the truth against hatred and antisemitism,” Macron stated.
Le 12 juillet 1906, la cour de cassation rendait à Alfred Dreyfus les biens les plus précieux de l’honnête homme : son innocence, sa liberté, sa dignité et son honneur.
Désormais, chaque 12 juillet, se tiendra une cérémonie de commémoration pour… pic.twitter.com/pFfcNyvoon
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 12, 2025
The announcement comes amid an alarming rise in antisemitic hate crimes across France, with more than 500 incidents reported since January alone. As Macron noted, the “ancient specter” of antisemitism is far from gone — and honoring Dreyfus is intended as a national affirmation of the values of justice and equality in the face of that enduring threat.
A Historic Act of Redress
Dreyfus, from Alsace, was falsely accused in 1894 of passing classified military information to the Germans. The only evidence was a tenuous handwriting comparison, but a virulent antisemitic press campaign and elements within the army seized the opportunity to target him. Dreyfus was convicted of treason, publicly stripped of his rank in a humiliating degradation ceremony, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island, a remote penal colony in French Guiana.
The injustice sparked national and international outrage. Émile Zola’s famous “J’accuse” open letter exposed the government’s complicity, while military intelligence officer Georges Picquart uncovered the real culprit — Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy. Still, the army punished Picquart and protected Esterhazy.
After years of public pressure, Dreyfus was finally exonerated on July 12, 1906. Though reinstated in the military and later serving in World War I, the damage to his reputation and spirit was profound. Dreyfus died in 1935, never fully restored in the eyes of the nation that had turned against him.
A Symbol of Justice — and a Mirror of the Present
Macron’s announcement follows a recent unanimous vote by France’s National Assembly to posthumously promote Dreyfus to the rank of brigadier general. The bill, introduced by former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, whose father was Jewish, called it “an act of reparation, a recognition of [Dreyfus’s] merits, and a tribute to his commitment to the Republic.”
But this new national day carries urgent contemporary relevance. It represents not only an acknowledgment of historical wrongs, but a call to remain vigilant as antisemitism hits frightening levels both in France and around the world.
For French Jews, the Dreyfus Affair is more than a dark chapter in history — it is a reminder of how quickly injustice can take root when prejudice goes unchecked. It was this very case that helped shape the vision of Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, who came to believe that Jews could never be safe without political sovereignty and a homeland of their own.
Commemoration With Contemporary Relevance
As France prepares to commemorate Dreyfus each year, the challenge will be to ensure this moment becomes more than symbolic. While the annual observance will rightly mark the triumph of truth over falsehood and justice over hate, it also invites a deeper reckoning with the forces that still endanger both the Jewish community and the democratic values France purports to uphold.
Dreyfus’s story is not confined to the past — it reverberates in the present. July 12 will now stand not only as a tribute to one man’s long-delayed vindication, but as a national reminder that truth must be defended wherever prejudice takes root.
